Coming Home to Strangers
by Tears of Mercury
Summary: Learning that you mean nothing to someone is almost as frightening as realizing that you're all they've got. Jake Jageilski and his family are about to find this out. [BakexLeytonxNaley]


**Disclaimer:** I am in no way affiliated with One Tree Hill. I don't own any characters or plotlines I choose to uses, and I am not making any money from this story. The original characters and plots are, however, my own.

**A/N:** So here it is, the rewrite of _Are You Coming or Going?_. Many thanks to my beta Christina. It's still probably going to be extremely slow going, but I have a much better sense of the plot this time around. I hope that you all enjoy.

"… _  
__Wait, till I hit the ground harder __  
__Wish I could wait, to hear your heartbeat fast __  
__Wish I could wait till I missed her flavour __  
__My days are numbered here __  
__And I don't want to be the last one home __  
__Don't want to be the last one home __  
__…" _

"Jenny? Are you awake?" Jenny Jageilski started slightly, brushing the vestiges of sleep from her eyes and removing the headphones in her ears. She stared for a moment at the older man in the driver's seat, who was currently looking at her with a mixture of nerves and excitement dancing across his face. Any words at all seemed a colossal effort. 

"Yeah," she finally said awkwardly. He missed her discomfort and smiled happily. 

"Well, we're almost home. I think you're going to like Tree Hill a lot. My daughter Heidi is a junior, a year behind you. Hopefully she'll be able to introduce you to some nice kids and help you get your footing. She's co-captain of the cheerleading squad, which I'm not too keen on, but what are you going to do, right? The two of you will get on great. She's a little gruff at first, like her mom, but once you get to know her she's a kitten." As he continued a fifty minute spiel that she was sure had to be stolen from some brochure entitled _Giving Your Illegitimate Daughter a New Life_, she rested her head against the window. Buildings moved by in slow motion: the bank, the mayor's office, a small café tucked between a few preppy clothing stores. He'd said home, she suddenly realized. If the word had meant anything, anything at all to her, she might have thrown it back in his face dressed up with a sarcastic comment. But the only reason that she was sitting here with him was because home was out in Ohio six feet underground. 

"Is… uh… your wife going to be home when we get there?" Jenny asked. She was old enough to know that her stepmother was probably a nice woman; nicer, maybe, than her own mother. Her stomach still churned at the mere mention of the thirty-three-year-old woman. 

"Oh yeah, Brooke will be there. We told Heidi to come home right after school, but she's a little challenged when it comes to punctuality. You shouldn't take it personally if she isn't there," he added in an apologetic tone that informed her she should take it very personally, indeed, if the family princess didn't deem her worthwhile. He turned into a street lined on each side with manicured lawns and subtly expensive stone houses. Suburbia at its best. She noticed a little girl, four or five by her estimate, scuttling up and down her driveway in a pink plastic car. Someone called out to her from inside the house. In a moment's time the girl had hopped out of the car and was dashing towards the front door, reddish brown hair glinting in the sunlight. Jenny was so absorbed in the scene that she hardly noticed the car pulling to the left and coming to a stop. "Well, this is it. What do you think?" 

"It's big," she squeaked. The mansion (because it could hardly be referred to as a house, much less a home) was cut from grey stone, and wide windows in the front displayed a living room filled with comfortable, expensive maroon and gold furniture. There were no signs of wear on the grass, and the rosebushes out front bloomed obnoxiously. It was exactly the sort of house she'd grown up watching her mother sneer at. A small chuckle caught in Jake's throat and came out more like a strangled gasp for air. 

"That's what I said, too. Brooke was absolutely in love with the attic, though. Said it was a perfect place to set up shop. I don't know if your mom told you, but Brooke's actually a fashion designer—" 

"I've seen her stuff," she interrupted, not wanting to hear any more than necessary about the charmed family. 

"I guess we should go in, then," he stated after a lengthy silence. Jenny yanked on the door handle, forgetting that it wasn't Nikki's beat-up Jetta with its unreliable handle. Jake was already rifling through the trunk, reaching for her guitar and the small duffel bag into which she'd shoved her entire wardrobe. 

"I'll carry the guitar," she said quietly. Without question, Jake handed over the hard case. The moment her fingers grasped the handle she felt a familiar sense of security envelope her. She closed her eyes for a moment, breathing in the scent of lilies, stale vodka, and cigarettes. For a moment she was safe. Her scuffed skateboarding shoes made careful strides along the line of available asphalt as Jake cut across the yard in a few sure strides. After a moment of hesitation she followed his example. Seeing her uneasiness Jake leaned away from the front door conspiratorially. 

"Brooke strangles me every time she sees me walk across the lawn, but I feel a little too much like the Man with everything so perfect." 

"It is. Perfect, I mean." Before he could reply, the sound of heels clicking came through the door. 

"Jake? Jenny? Is that you?" 

"It's us, sweetie!" Jake yelled back, grinning as the step grew nearer. He turned to Jenny, his eyes clouding over slightly. "As much as I'd like to believe that was true, nothing is perfect, Jenny." 

-0-0-0- 

"Jenny Jagielski is back in town," Haley commented. The Scott family had just sat down to dinner, and with Lily sulking over being called in early and Liam at his cousins', things had been relatively quiet. Nathan took a long sip of water and raised his eyebrows at his wife. 

"As in Jenny the toddler that Jake's been in a custody battle over for the better half of his life?" Haley frowned at him and shot a nervous glance at Aidan, relieved when she saw him absorbed with his sweet potatoes. 

"Yes, that would be the Jenny in question. She's seventeen now, actually; we're bringing her in for aptitude testing tomorrow to figure out where to place her. Her records are an absolute mess; I don't think she ever stayed at any one school for more than a year. It's a wonder the girl has sufficient education to even enter high school." 

"So much for confidentiality," Aidan muttered, flinching when he felt his mother's eyes on him. He met her gaze, ocean green dueling with hazel for a good fifteen seconds before he looked down. "I was just saying," he muttered, hunching further over his plate. 

"Aidan, you actually might be interested in meeting Jenny. I'm pretty sure that she'll need a tutor once she settles in. She won't be taking AP courses, in any case." 

"You know, usually principals don't interrupt dinner to recruit tutors," he retorted. Haley frowned and smoothed the tablecloth with her hand. 

"That's not what I meant, honey. I just know that you don't really fit in with Jared and Liam, and I thought you might enjoy meeting someone in the same position. It's really hard going through such a big transition during your senior year." 

"You mean like coming home from tour and convincing your husband to take you back because you're pregnant?" Aiden asked, a cynical smile on his face. 

"That's more than enough," Nathan said, his voice lowered in warning. "Your mother deserves a lot more respect than you're giving her." 

"Because you would know about respect," the younger Scott replied, edging out of his seat and retreating to his room before Nathan had a chance to say anything. A small giggle came from Lily. 

"He's just mad because Liam told him to fuck off earlier. What does that mean, mommy?" 

"How many times do we have to remind these boys that they have a five-year-old sister?" Nathan growled, balling his fist. Haley took her head from her hands long enough to answer Lily's question. 

"Honey, do you remember a few weeks ago when you used another word and mommy explained to you that it meant something bad?" 

"All of the fun words mean something bad," she pouted. 

-0-0-0- 

"I can't believe how much you've grown up! The last time I saw you you weren't even two feet tall," Brooke gushed, reaching out and taking hold of Jenny's hand. "You're such a pretty girl." Jenny shifted on the couch, looking frantically for the comfortable position that seemed to evade her. Before she could answer the front door opened, revealing a short, blonde-haired girl dressed in spandex shorts and a sports bra. She dropped her gym bag by the door and kicked off her tennis shoes, groaning when she moved the sore muscles in her arms. "Heidi, come on up. Jenny's here." An amused smirk formed on Jenny's face as the other girl's movements slowed down almost unnoticeably. 

"I told you to drive home as soon as school let out," Jake reminded in a tight voice. Heidi rolled her eyes and smoothed her messy ponytail. 

"I had cheerleading practice. I can't drop everything the minute the prodigal daughter returns." Brooke's eyes filled with something akin to sympathy. 

"Let's just sit down and talk about this. I know these adjustments are going to be hard on all of us, but we're family. We need to get all of this awkwardness out in the open where it can't cause quite as much damage," Brooke said, looking over at Jake in hope of support. Instead, she found her husband sending Heidi a stony glance. 

"Cheerleading practice could have been skipped for one day. I'm sure Alexis wouldn't have minded if you'd explained the circumstances." Heidi let out a hollow laugh. 

"This is Tree Hill. Everyone already knows the news, in case you haven't noticed. Besides, I'm sure Jenny didn't mind that I wasn't home the minute she arrived; did you, Jenny?" The two girls locked eyes, and an amused smile played across Jenny's lips. 

"No, I didn't mind. It's kind of nice that someone's not making such a huge deal out of this." Brooke started to say something, but Heidi cut her off. 

"Come on, Jenny; I'll show you where your room is." She nodded in assent and stood quickly, gathering her duffle bag and guitar case in one hand. As they left the room, Brooke turned to Jake and lifted her eyebrows. 

"They were playing with us, weren't they?" Jake met her with an equally baffled expression. 

"I'm not quite sure." 

-0-0-0- 

"In some stroke of genius, my parents put us in adjoining rooms and gave us one bathroom to share. I'm not really picky about people leaving their crap around, but don't take anything of mine. And if I'm in my room with my boyfriend, which will probably never happen thanks to my dad's rules, don't interrupt. Turn on music if you hear my parents coming upstairs. The last thing I need this year is getting grounded." Because this year is all about you, Jenny was tempted to say, but she bit her tongue. She peered into the room, slightly sickened by the newness and order of everything. The coverlet still had fold marks from its plastic case. "Well, this is it. I guess I'll see you at dinner." When Heidi's footsteps receded down the hallway Jenny ventured further inside the room. There was a view, she realized; an outdoor basketball court was lit by a succession of streetlamps set along the river's edge. With a fascination she couldn't account for she lingered by the windowsill, allowing a million memories to wash over her. 

"_Well, your dad loved to play basketball." __  
_

"_Jenny, in this world there are the ones who have and the ones who don't. Now, if you want a fucking fifties sitcom then you go live with your daddy, but you just remember that he has a temper on him." __  
_

"_There was this one place where we used to go late at night, when no one else was awake. Your dad would lean over my stomach and sing to you. Just make up lyrics on the spot. You were his muse."_

Had Jake sung to Heidi when she was little? The thought brought tears to her eyes. Pride forced her to blink them away and move across the room to the closet. A perfect line of brand-new white plastic hangers hung from the center of the closet's rod; there were grossly more than she had any use for. "I'm sick of this. I'm sick of this house, this situation, these people… I'm sick of this life." Just as she'd suspected, no writing appeared on the wall and no ghostly presence reminded her of her mother. She unzipped her duffel bag, withdrawing a thick fleece blanket and a hard, cold piece of metal hanging from a chain. She climbed onto the bed and curled into a tight ball, shutting her eyes to everything she didn't want to see. Sleep didn't come, and neither did peace. 

-0-0-0- 

"Okay, you realize that no daughter of mine is leaving this house wearing something like that, don't you?" Lucas stood to his full six feet, arms crossed and jaw jutted forward in challenge. His fourteen-year-old daughter made almost as imposing a figure. 

"Mom, is there anything wrong with what I'm wearing? Huh?" She gestured to her mid-thigh denim skirt and slinky black camisole. Peyton fingered a strand of hair at the back of her neck, biting her lip apologetically when Lucas sent her an expectant look.

"Luke, you did agree that her skirts could be five inches above the knee when she was standing," she pointed out.

"That was before I knew what five inches above the knee looked like! The two of you practically roped me into that one!" he said, his voice rising in volume without turning into a shout. Whatever could be said about his disciplinary skills, he had never once shouted at his wife or any of his children; not, of course, that that courtesy was always returned.

"Dad, you let me wear skirts like this when I was nine years old," Amanda pointed out, raising one eyebrow questioningly. While she had inherited her mother's physique, the expression made her look like a mirror image of her father. Lucas turned his face to the side and waved a hand in her general direction.

"Well, you didn't look like that when you were nine." Peyton reached out to touch Lucas on the arm. The ringing of the phone carried from the living room.

"Okay, that's probably Haley wondering why Liam isn't home yet. Lucas, don't pass any ultimatums while I'm away, and Amanda…" Peyton smiled in amusement, "try not to pout. It isn't exactly helping your case." She left the room and padded down the stairs, rolling her eyes when she saw Liam and Jared sprawled out on the floor watching a horror flick. She reached for the phone and smiled into the receiver. "I'm sorry Haley. I told Liam to call and get permission to spend the night, but I guess that didn't happen." She emphasized the last phrase, sending a reproving look to her indifferent nephew.

"That's fine. I didn't really expect him to be home for dinner, anyway. I was wondering, though… I just came by some information, and I thought you might want to know in advance." Peyton frowned at the strange tone in her best friend's voice. Her eyes darted to the two boys in her living room and she moved out of the room slowly, relaxing when she was safely tucked away in Lucas's study. 

"What's going on, Haley? Did someone drop an atomic bomb on North Korea and I'm just the last one to know?" she asked. Haley's next words almost made her lose her grip on the phone.

"Jenny Jageilski is back in town. She's going to be attending Tree Hill High, and since we both have kids there and Brooke is so involved in the PTA, I thought that you might want to know ahead of time…" Haley drifted off and sighed. "I shouldn't even be telling you this. It just seems like you of all people have a right to know." After thanking her and hanging up the phone Peyton smoothed her hands over the gleaming surface of Lucas's desk. A bitterness she hadn't remembered possessing took her by surprise, and she found herself wondering why, when she had as much right as anyone to know about this, Jake hadn't found the time to tell her himself.

-0-0-0- 

"I can't believe that you didn't tell your mom. That's kind of harsh, man," Liam commented. His gaze was fixed on the basket hanging from the garage. He bent his knees, jumped, and released the ball with perfect aim all in one fluent motion.

"How the hell was I supposed to know that Jenny Jageilski's name would mean anything to her? She said that she and Jake dated in high school, not that they played house," Jared replied. He'd already been through one thorough questioning that night and he wasn't in the mood for another. "Besides, Heidi told me that stuff in confidence. With Amanda suddenly attracting guys left and right, the last thing I need to deal with is a pissed off girlfriend." Liam snorted and retrieved the basketball, tossing it to Jared.

"Let Amanda have some fun. You and I were a lot more… advanced," he improvised, smirking devilishly, "at that age then she is now." Jared threw that ball at Liam, hard.

"Yeah, well, Amanda is a girl. When dad got put on observation in the hospital for all of that crap with his heart last year she practically collapsed. I don't even want to think of what some cocky junior could do to her," he said. Liam sensed his cousin's mood and changed the topic.

"So, what do we know about Miss Jennifer? You know, you're kind of lucky: two sisters under one roof… you could be sitting on a gold mine." His eyebrows shot up.

"Yeah, right. Let's not forget the last victim of Heidi's wrath. Besides, she could be really ugly," Jared pointed out. Liam's eyes were shining with amusement.

"Have you seen the girls' gene pool?"

"Mrs. Jageilski isn't Jenny's biological mother, pervert."

-0-0-0- 

"Jake, I'm really worried about her," Brooke said. Jake traced lazy circles over her exposed stomach, hugging her more tightly.

"Heidi will be fine. She just needs a little adjustment time," he replied, covering her neck with kisses. Her back arched slightly and she let out a low moan before turning to face him and placing her hands on his chest.

"That wasn't the 'her' I was talking about," she admitted, looking into his eyes. "It's not that I expect Jenny to be calling this place home her first night here, but she just seems really detached. I haven't seen her shed one tear or even act like she's grieving for her mom." The corners of his mouth turned down.

"Who would grieve over someone like Nikki?" Brooke sighed and ran her hand over the side of his face.

"Nikki could have been mother of the year for all we know. The private investigators never found anything, and neither did the courts. Regardless of how she treated Jenny, she was her mother. I saw Peyton deal with her grief for ten years, and I saw her shut down after Anna died, just like Jenny is now. I just want her to feel comfortable… to know that we're here if she needs us."

"She'll love you, Brooke. Just give it a little time," Jake said, closing the small distance between them and enveloping her in a hug. It was the right thing to say, but Jake wasn't sure that Jenny would ever grow to love any of them, especially once the truth sunk in.


End file.
